(Indianapolis) Student assessments and teacher evaluation topics dominated the discussion of the State Board of Education’s (SBOE) monthly meeting. The SBOE voted to postpone the CoreLink assessment administration currently scheduled for May, given the impending adoption of new college and career ready standards and some implementation questions that have yet to be addressed.

Members agreed to task the newly formed assessment committee with considering appropriate transition testing specifications and timing to meet state and federal requirements. Dr. Brad Oliver noted students could see as many as four tests throughout the next year, and the Board agreed the new committee could best determine appropriate testing options.
An update on the recently released data for teacher effectiveness provided hearty discussion. A 2011 state statute required school corporations to evaluate their teachers, utilizing a state model evaluation system called RISE or a local evaluation system independently developed by each corporation. Data released by the Indiana Department of Education (DOE) on Monday showed 87% of the state’s teachers rated effective or highly effective, 2% “needing improvement”, and less than 0.5% rated as “ineffective”.

At-large SBOE member Gordon Hendry called the data release “A Lake Wobegon moment,” adding “the existing system was not fair to our kids and our teachers. We have to find a new way to get accurate results for our teachers to continue to improve what’s in the classroom.”

Seventh District member Dan Elsener requested staff provide a correlation of schools at a future meeting, comparing data for all teachers effective/highly effective with ISTEP+ grades. He was also interested in the evaluation models schools used for the calculations, a choice determined by local school corporations.

“Children that are achieving at high levels should have highly effective teachers,” Elsener said. “Student learning outcomes are what we want to see, so let’s look at the data where they have been successful.”

Updates were also provided on the conditions at Roosevelt High School in Gary, a turn-around academy run by Edison Learning. State law provides that the Gary School Corporation will maintain the facilities, but complaints about mold in classrooms and leaking pipes were brought to the SBOE’s attention earlier this year. At the direction of the board, SBOE staff accompanied inspectors onsite to review the conditions and to collect estimates on the potential remediation and repairs needed. Staff recommendations included the Gary School District’s consideration of a state general fund loan.
District One representative Tony Walker said he remained hopeful that the state would continue to think innovatively regarding options to potentially address the situation, given the financially distressed nature of the Gary system.

Board members heard updates from the DOE regarding the Lead Partners who assist the state’s lowest performing schools, considered updates to teacher licensing requirements, and also set precedent in a transportation reimbursement appeal between school corporations in Fayette County and Hamilton Heights.

Recommendations to modify the adjunct permit for teachers under the REPA 3 licensure rules were deliberated, but tabled until the next meeting as members discussed a variety of perspectives including monitoring issues regarding pedagogy training, and maintaining the existing language as an option for principals to recruit subject matter experts in unique fields.

An update on the ongoing academic standards evaluation was provided by DOE and SBOE staff, noting public release and on-line posting of the final draft of proposed standards, national evaluator reports, and public comments would occur next week. The final meeting of the College and Career Ready Panel will be held this Friday, with panel members making any adjustments. The proposed standards will be presented to Education Roundtable on April 21, and their recommendations presented to the SBOE on April 28. Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz, Dr. Oliver and Hendry all expressed appreciation for the many hours invested by educators, staff, and CCR participants in crafting the new standards.

The SBOE’s newly formed Assessments Committee met following the formal board meeting to begin discussions on assessments to align with the incoming academic standard changes. Superintendent Ritz chairs the committee, and the initial meeting focused upon a review of existing state assessments as well as committee members’ visions and goals for a comprehensive state assessment system. Future meeting dates for the committee will be announced.

The Board’s next meeting will be held on April 28 at 9 am at the Indiana State Library’s History Reference Room to consider the adoption of the new academic standards for math and English/ELA.

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